With One Moment, Things Change Forever

Have you ever sat back and thought one decision, one action, one word, one event can and has changed your life forever. This has been big on my mind lately. It can really be anything, deciding to go one way to a place, instead of another has the potential to be life saving. Coming out of your comfort zone and saying hello to a random stranger can create an instant friendship. I mean think about it. Is there one moment you can think of that if it didn't happen that certain way things would be drastically different now? We all have at least one of these moments. Really, we all have lots of these moments, and probably daily.

I have one MAJOR life changing moment in mind that I would love to share. Last summer my life drastically changed, all in one night. Let me say this, if this event that was being held didn't happen and if I didn't make this one decision I am not really sure where I would be today. I probably would not be near as happy, not hanging out with a right group of people, not any where near as close to God as I am. Most likely, I would be miserable and completely unhappy. Intense right?!

I am a part of Passion City Church (as I have mentioned before). God placed me there for a reason I know, because He has completely turned my life upside down. He broke me completely down to make me realize that I am NOTHING with out Him. One of our key headlines at PCC is JESUS IS ALIVE, and boy does that reign true in my life. Its been a hard process, but I am getting to a place where it's good. Am I even close to perfect? Not at all, but I know my God is good, and He has brought me back from death to life.

Oh, sorry for the tangent. Back to the life changing moment. That was just a little set up...

Summer of 2011, we had this thing at church called SUMMER IN THE CITY. This was it, that was my life changing moment, and there I made some last minute decisions that has changed my life completely.

Let me give you a little back story...

For my first two years of college I went to Carson- Newman. I loved it there, for the most part. Summer going in to my junior year I found out I would have to take some time off from school. I was sad, but I understood and knew God had a reason for this. It was going to be okay. Well coming home was harder than expected. Not many people knew the tough time I had. I had about 3 friends at home, so it got lonely. I missed having a group of friends to goof off with all of the time. I missed being up really late and making Taco Bell runs. I missed all of it. It is a private christian school, so it was also a little shocking going from the "private school bubble" to the world. It was rough. By the time summer of 2011 rolled around, I had almost given up hope completely.

Just some of the fun times I had at Carson-Newman

When Summer in the City came around I gained a little bit of hope. I went into the whole process saying I am going to be open, outgoing, and I am going to find some great friends to just do life with! Well little did I know... 

At SITC we had community groups, where you just got to meet random people, get to know them and discuss life and God with them. This is where it began. I don't remember who specifically was in my group, but I do remember afterwards. We made the decision to go out to eat with a big group of people and this is where I met some friends who have become my best friends! 

From that Wednesday on we went out to eat and tried to get as many people as possible to come. One Wednesday we decided to go to Fellinis, well it ended up being about 35 of us that night. This was a night I will truly never forget. I met people who have changed my life forever. People who don't care who I am, they love me for exactly what I am. It is truly marvelous. If you don't have a group of friends like this I really recommend you getting plugged in somewhere. Don't be afraid to talk to people. You never know where that will take you. 

If I wouldn't of gone to SITC, if I didn't talk to people I didn't know, if I didn't invite random people to go to dinner with us, if they decided not to have SITC, my life would be 100% different than it is now. I think God everyday that it happened the way it did. I don't know where I would be with out it. 

These people.... wow... no words can describe how much I am thankful for them. 

So I leave you with this...

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16

Goodbyes, Well for Lack of a Better Word... SUCK!!

Well can I get an AMEN?!

Whether these goodbyes are forced, unexpected, only temporary, or needed, they are in fact one of the worst things to experience. 

What brings this up you ask? Well actually a couple things. Recently I said goodbye to a person who has become one of my best friends, luckily she will be back in four months. It helps that she is going to do big things for God in Africa. So we decided that we guessed it was okay to let her go. :D Plus I mean she is bringing me back a giraffe. 

Another goodbye that wasn't too fun, is that I just had to council a very close friend of mine (Let us call her Tina) into the prospect of saying goodbye to some of her closest friends. This is a case of a goodbye that was needed, but was still just as hard, if not more so. It was one of those thing where she had been there for them and their bad decisions. She tried to talk to them about their lifestyle choices all she could. They wouldn't listen. Trying to keep up with the friendship and not get dragged down to where they had found themselves wore on Tina like no other. 

So she came to me for help and through prayer and God's guidance Tina decided it would be best to take a step back and give them a considerable distance. Maybe find friends who can be uplifting. She isn't going to completely turn her back on them, but she had to say goodbye for now. 

Goodbyes stick with you for a while. Sometimes it's hard to get over, but there is no going back. People come in and out of your life for a reason, you just have to trust God and know that there is a purpose for the pain and emptiness you may feel. 

So I leave you with this...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

New Beginnings.

Here we are two weeks in to 2012. What a year this was supposed to be for me. This was the year I was to graduate college, find a career, move in to a place of my own, and finally become a grown up. Boy little did I know God has completely different plans for me. That just shows that our ways are definitely not always His ways. 

Instead, I know that 2012 is going to be an even more life changing year than I could ever have imagined. 

This is going to be the year I am not going to let fear over come my life. This is the year that I submit to God with everything that I do. I am not looking at all of this as "New Years Resolutions." To me that is too cliche, to temporary. I mean lets be honest, who actually keeps their resolutions? No one. I am not going to say I will do this one thing everyday. Its more like things in general, for example I plan to just be a better human being, a better daughter, a better friend, and most importantly a better Christian. 

In years past I have lived with such complacency. The mediocre, luke warm Christians pastors preach about not being, yeah that was me. I was that person who did only just enough to get by. I wasn't all in. I was in only as much as I had to be, or thought I had to be rather. Well where has this change in me to want to do more came from? Well this starts about in June....

I attend and serve at this small little church called Passion City Church. We are growing though. ;) I have been there for about one and a half years now. Well this summer we had a college gathering called Summer in the City. The prospect of this gave me incredible hope. 

I had recently came home from college in Tennessee and really didn't have many friends in Atlanta. When I say not many I literally mean three, yep only three friends, Megan, Taylor, and Jonathan. Jonathan doesn't really even count he is family. So for all intense purposes I had two friends. 

Anyways, back to the story. With Summer in the City, it gave me the hope that I would be able to find a group of friends to just build community with and do life with. This DEFINITELY happened! 

This was the amazing group of people that I met that have came to be my best friends, but more on that later. Now back to the change. 

I now had a group of friends to grow with, and so it gave me a reason to want to be more. This fall we had a series at church called Unusual. This impacted me like no other series I have ever heard. It was just about being an unusual Christian, and not living in normalcy. One of the notes I have from Louie is, "God's plan isn't counter to us being excellent at something." "Don't take shortcuts. When your doing what your doing now, God is preparing you for what is to come." These two statements rocked my world. I realized I have been average, normal, and ordinary. I was like this not only in my faith, but in my work, my friendships, and my family life. God showed me I needed to be giving my 150% in all that I do. 

I stepped up my game. I still failed in a lot that I did. And I will always continue to have failure, but I know that my God is sovereign and he has an extraordinary plan for my life. 

This January, the first few days, there was this little conference with about 45,000 of my closest college aged friends called Passion, I don't know you might of heard of it. To say that Passion was a life altering, mind blowing, slap in the face, feeling like I am drinking from a fire hydrant experience, well that is putting it lightly. I have no words for what I experienced in those short four days. God absolutely and fully rocked my world. 

When I say I want to be better everything in the year 2012, that is why. He showed me I have no choice. He gave everything just for me! Why should I not do the same for Him. He has called me to "DO SOMETHING NOW!" Not later, not next year. NOW!!! I will no longer be silent. He has great plans for me and I can't wait until I know what they are. As I go through what His will is and my life plan I will share with you. There are a few things that I will be sharing, but that can wait until next time. 

For now I leave you with this. 

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,  in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.  And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,  who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” EPHESIANS 1:11-14